Tuesday, June 21, 2011

BFFS

My two best friends live in Des Moines.  We don't get to see each other as often as we'd like to, but it did work out to get together for the day last week.  I was headed to Trav's hometown with the girls for a visit to Grandma's house.  And luckily we got to see both Jen, Heidi and ALL the kids!  We had a blast.  It never matters how much time we are apart, we pick up right where we left off.  I am so thankful for these two!


Jen, Heidi and Me
 (28 weeks preggo and SWOLLEN!)
All the kids...Jen has three girls, Heidi two boys and my three girls
Blowing bubbles with "Aunt" Heidi

Heidi and her youngest, Alex

Miss Violet goofing around
Jen had to leave a little early for a softball game (bummer!) but the girls and I stayed for supper at Heidi's house.  It was so nice to hang out and see our kids play together.  Can't wait until next time!

More later,
Lori

Thursday, June 16, 2011

ABC's of Me Meme

One of my friends tagged me for this meme:

A. Age: 35 (! How did that happen?)


B. Bed Size: Queen.  Which is too small for my 6'4" husband so he sleeps sideways in it. 
C. Chore I dislike:  Cleaning the shower and sweeping/mopping the floor. 
D. Dog:  Josie, our 1/2 basset hound, 1/2 Australian Shepard adorable and short/fat four-legged member of our family.  We got her when we were truck drivers and I didn't even like dogs before I met her.
E. Essential Start of The Day: Not to be dorky, but a hug from my hubby and singing the song "It's a Good Day" by Peggy Lee
F. Favorite color: blue
G.Gold or silver: Silver!

H. Height: 5’6″
I. Instruments you play(ed): piano , percussion and violin.  Although really just piano if you want it to sound good. :)

J. Job Title: Director of Operations(home). Aka stay at home mom. Former jobs:  public relations coordinator at an advertising agency, public relations manager at United Way, over-the-road truck driver
K. Kids: Madeline (6), Zella (4), Violet (2) and baby boy due this Fall

L.Live: 1 1/2 story house in my hometown
M. Moms name: Kathleen
N. Nick names: Boss (my truck driving name) lol
O. Overnight hospital stays (in chronological order) exposure to hazardous chemicals (nitrous and sulfuric acid), childbirth times 3
P. Pet peeves:  When people are always negative and assume the worst
Q. Quote from a movie: "He's all hopped up on Mountain Dew!" from Talladega Nights

R. Righty or Lefty: right.

S. Siblings: Brother Kurt in Indiana, Sister Karen in Britt, Twin sister Lisa in Cherokee, IA, and little sis Bonnie in Britt
T. Time you wake up: Whenever Zella wakes up (usually 6 AM). She used to wake up at 4:30 or  5 am when she was three so this is a big improvement!
U. Underwear:   Um, yes please?
V.Vegetables I don’t like:  Cooked cauliflower.  Otherwise I love veggies, raw, steamed, broiled or grilled!
W.What makes me run late: I hate to be late.  I would say a poop blowout, puke or MY HUSBAND makes me later.
X. X-rays: I don't remember ever having an x-ray.
Y.yummy food that I make: Homemade pizza, CUPCAKES!, baked oatmeal, chicken salad, broiled tillapia, sugar cookies.  Now I am hungry!
Z. Zoo animals: giraffes and seals are my fav

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Songs In My Head

When Violet was in the hopsital I sang her this song over and over (too bad I don't sound like Etta!)  This is my fav song of all time and Violet listens to it with me all the time.  She was so brave in the hospital and would always take a deep breath and try to calm down when I asked her to.  What a champ!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

This PSA Brought To You By....

So I mentioned that Violet had a hospital stay recently.  Thankfully she is 100% okay but it could have ended very differently!

We had company at our house for Madeline's ballet recital.  And one of our visitors accidentally left their nicotine mints on our kitchen table while they ran upstairs after their own two year old.

Everyone else was outside playing with sidewalk chalk, and Travis was grilling lunch.  I brought Violet inside to wash her hands and then I went to the bathroom.  As I was washing my hands I heard her saying, "Yum, yum."  Followed quickly by, "YUCKY!"

I ran into the dining room and saw her chewing several nicotine mints, holding the container they came in.  I called for help and tried to get as much out of her mouth as I could.  We called poison control and they told us to take her to the hospital immediately.  Thankfully we have a hospital in Britt just a couple blocks away from our house.

Unfortunately they had to put a tube down her nose to give her charcoal.  (The charcoal helped absorb the nicotine to get it out of her system)  At this point she was pale, clammy, listless and had a very high heart rate and blood pressure.  Then her eyes started rolling and I got nervous.  We had to be transferred by ambulance to the hospital in Mason City.  About halfway through the ambulance ride she was more alert and seemed better.

We were in the hospital for 24 hours for observation.  The concern was that she would have a seizure.  The doctors had her hooked up to heart monitors with all kinds of tubes/wires!  Thankfully her heart rate and blood pressure finally came down around 3 a.m. (she consumed the mints at noon).  When we were checking out the next day they told us they had been preparing to transfer her to a larger hospital in Rochester to a NICU before her heart rate came down.  Very scary.

I am leaving a lot out, but my point in posting this is that YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL.  I personally picked up the container of nicotine mints five or six times and asked our visitor where I could put them to keep them away from the kids.  The doctor let me know that although it was an accident, I still should have thrown the mints away or locked them up myself if I noticed they were being left out.  AND HE WAS RIGHT.  I should have done that.  We all need to remember to be vigilant and careful.  Violet is okay but it could have turned out differently.

So PLEASE take a look around your home or when you visit others and look for hazards big and small.  Violet had to go through a lot due to a preventable accident.  (And her mama and papa did too!!!) 

Thank you to Hancock County Memorial Hospital (the staff was great with Violet!), the amazing volunteer EMTS on the ambulance service (especially Karen who got Violet to smile) and the nurses and doctors at Mercy.  They made a scary situation easier.

Now go and make sure your medications are put up!  I mean it!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Something To Think About

I saw this somewhere and can't stop thinking about it. 



Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Catch Up



Time keeps moving whether or not I want it to.  Whether or not I take photos, consciously make memories or blog.  And I suppose that is alright, although I so enjoy checking out old photos or taking a peek at past blog posts to remember what we were doing a year ago. 

So what having we been doing since APRIL when I last blogged?

Lots.

Two recitals (Zella's tumbling and Madeline's dance), last day of school, my brother's 40th birthday party/visit, Travis traveling on four separate work trips (two for a week long) in six weeks, move to a twin bed and new paint job for Violet's room, trip to the pediatric opthamologist in Des Moines (good news for Zella and Madeline), fixing up Mommy's room (keep out!), massive decluttering (early nesting?), a mini camping vacation, a SCARY ambulance ride and hospital stay for Violet, a growing baby boy (hooray!), and lots of hugs, kisses, fights and arguing.  And lots of fishing for Papa and his girls.

Did I miss anything?

Probably.

Although I may not get caught up on blogging about ALL of the above, I will post soon about Violet's hospital stay.  She is alright luckily, but I definitely want to share a public service announcement (as Trav would say) about what happened.  I am still a little traumatized and so is she, honestly.

The baby is doing great and is very active.  If this is a preview I will be a very busy mama this Fall! 

So a busy month and a half condensed into a few small paragraphs. 

More later,
Lori